It was the best of both worlds for UCSB on the mound at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium on Friday.
Senior right-hander Greg Davis pitched a complete game – the second in a
row by a Gaucho pitcher – and UCSB’s offense chased Long Beach State’s
Shawn Stuart after just nine batters as Santa Barbara won, 7-2.
Davis tossed his first complete game since May 29, 2010 as he allowed
just two earned runs while striking out five and didn’t issue a walk.
Through seven innings, Davis allowed just one 49ers runner past second
base and he got Matt Duffy to hit into a game-ending double play with
the bases loaded in the ninth.
“He was outstanding through the first seven,” said UCSB head coach Bob
Brontsema, whose team has won three straight and improves to 17-16
overall and 4-4 in the Big West. “He gave us a big win and we look for
it again tomorrow.”
Jesse Meaux pitched a complete game on Thursday. Matt Vedo gets his turn on Saturday.
The Gauchos chased Stuart after he recorded just three outs. UCSB scored
twice in the first inning as Derek Eligio scored on Mark Haddow’s
sacrifice fly and Joe Wallace’s base hit brought home Brandon Trinkwon.
In the second Joe Winterburn singled and Lance Roenicke walked, forcing
Long Beach to bring in Matt Johnson. However, Eligio was hit by a pitch
to load the bases and Trinkwon’s single brought home one run. A double
play ground ball by Sean Williams scored another.
Trevor Whyte hit his first home run of the season to open the third
inning, a towering blast to deep right-center field to make it 5-0 and
with the way Davis was going, it was more than enough.
“It was probably a tough loss for (Long Beach State) on Thursday and for
us to jump on them like we did, early in the game, was a good thing,”
Brontsema said.
The Gauchos added two more runs in the fourth inning, but the frame –
and the game – took a horrible turn. Trinkwon fouled a ball off his left
cheek and crumpled to the ground before being taken to a nearby
emergency room. The freshman shortstop will be held overnight.
After Trinkwon’s misfortune, Steven Moon singled to right field to score
a run and Haddow’s base hit brought in UCSB’s seventh run.
Wallace made a superb catch in the seventh inning to keep the shutout
intact at the time, leaping over the wall to steal a home run from
Brennan Metzger. LBSU (18-18, 5-6) managed to score an inning later on a
pair of two-out hits.
